Crane mechanism



C. A. WEBER CRANE MECHANISM July 8 1924.-

Filed Oct. 15, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IVV/LV TI U9. 'CHAS AVWESER C. A.WEBER CRANE MECHANISM BY RM $9.. m m m ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR CHAS. AM EBE Filed Oct. 15 i920 Patented July 8,

UNITED STA-IVES PATENT, OFFICE.

CHARLES A. WEBER, OF IJORAIN, OHIO. ASSIGNOR TO THE THEW SHOVEL COMPANY,OF LORAIN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CRANE MECHANISM.

Application filed October 15, 1920. Serial No. 417,093.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. \VEBER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lorain, county of Lorain, and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Crane Mechanisms; and I do herebydeclare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description oftheinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same. I

My invention relates to crane mechanisms and has a more particular usein connection with underground mining power shovels, although it is notlimited to such use, being capable of use in connection with cranemechanisms of different types. It has been found that power miningshovels may be used to advantage in underground mining operationsinvolving considerable output and affording suificient workingclearances. In coal, zinc, iron and salt mines, as well as in lime stoneand tunneling operations of various kinds such shovels have proven to bei economical factors. However, the working clearances which theunderground mine passages afford the power shovel as it is moved frompoint to point is a limiting factor. It has been found necessary to make39 such mechanisms so that they can be dismantled for passage throughentrances of very small dimensions, and this is also required where. itis necessary for the shovel to turn corners in going from one passage toa passage at an angle thereto.

The present invention is an improvement upon the presentday type ofshovels, whereby much'of this dismantling, which involves a considerableamount of labor and consumes 40 considerable time, may be avoided.

Shovels of the type to which my invention relates employ booms wherebythe shovel dipper may be raised or lowered by means of' a chain, orcable, and it is a distinctadvantage, when the shovel isin operation, tobe able to elevate the end of the boom to a maximum height, since the,working range is thereby extended.

I accomplish the desirable result of being able to use a boom structureof minimum height, and provide on the end of this boom a boom extensionmember mounted in a novel way on the end of the boom, whereby it may beset to provide different degrees of elevation for the sheave over whichthe shovel hoist chain is carried, or which may be lowered when thecrane is traveling. through the underground passages whose ceiling wallsare low.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide such an adjustableboom exten sion as may be cheaply constructed, readily placed onexisting types of booms, which may be easily and simply adjusted to giveany desired elevation, and when thus adjusted, will retain suchadjustment, even though the shovel dipper be carrying very heavy loads.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will be betterunderstood by referring to the drawing accompanying this specification,in which 1 Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of my invention in side elevation;

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of a portion of the'mechanism illustrated inFig. 1, and in which portion the improvements of my invention areillustmted Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the boom showing the mechanismconnected thereto, which comprises a portion of the improvementsconstituting my invention;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line A-A in Fig. 1 showing the adjustablemounting for the extension member; and

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line B-B in Fig. 1 showing the adjustablemounting for the extension member.

Referring to the drawing, in the figures of which. like -p'arts havelike reference characters, at P I show a platform upon which is mounteda cab C, the said platform being rotatably mounted on a main frame MF,which carries a circular track CT and upon which track rollers R areadapted to run, and which rollers carry the said platform. Upon the saidplatform and inside of the cab is mounted the power mechanism forrotating the platform for operating the shovel hoist mechanism forcausing the vehicle to travel on the caterpillar track CT and for movingthe dipper D on the dipper arm DA, which is supported on a trolley shoeTS, as may be desired. This power mechanism is not illustrated indetail, being merely indicated, as this does not form any part of mypresent invention.

At B is shown the boom secured at a point BP to the platform P, andwhich boom in the illustrated position of the platform exits movement bya power-driven sprocket SP, the said chain being directed in its; pathby sheaves IS. A hoist chain HC is also arranged to lift the dipper D inan upward,

forward direction, rotating the dipper on the dipper arm DA. which issecured by a dipper arm clamp DAG to a pivot pm TP in the trolley shoe.This hoist chain HG 1s adapted to be wound on a drum HOD, which isrotated by power means located within the cab C, the unwinding of thechain being accomplished in any desired way, as by the weight of thedipper, whenever the drum is released from its set position wh.ere inthe dipper is left. I

The sheave BES, over which the chain passes on the end of the boom, ismounted on a boom extension member BEF. This extension member isillustrated in plan v ew in Fig. 2 and is one of a pair of members oneither side of the boom as shown inFig. 8. It will be understood thatboth sides of the boom are alike, there being a pair of chainsHC and apair of sheaves BES, each of the chains being attached to a side of theshovel dipper.

' The member BEF is in the nature of a fork, the sheave BES beingdisposed be tween the prongs P and P of the fork be ingmounted on a pinEP. The member BEF is pivoted upon a pin Fl about which it may rotate toelevate the sheave BES to any desired degree, within limits, this beingaccomplished by inserting a rod BR into openings R0 in the other end ofthe fork to form a handle, whereby con siderable leverage may be had bythe operator to change the adjustment ofthe extension member BEF.

When the sheave BES is elevated to a desired degree, which can be mosteasily accomplished when the dipper D is lying directly on the ground orfloor of the passage, this, adjustment may be maintained by means ofapin PA passing through coop crating apertures of the fork at PO and theparallel .arcuate ribs RE, which form sectors of concentric circles, andthrough which sectors a number of apertures may be provided to enablethe boom extension mem ber BEF to have a plurality of operativepositions. I

Thus the operator may so adjust the fork BEF so that the end thereofcontaining the sheave, over which the hoist chain passes, may. beelevated considerably above the'level of'the end of the boom B, wheneverit is desirable to do this, as for in'- stance, when earth, rocks or oreis being lifted from the floor of a passage being pin at the usualworked and loaded into cars, whereby the material may be conveyed away;thus when itis' desired to movethe shovel to a differentpassage of themine or tunnel system, the dipper will be lowered until it rests uponthe ground, the chain HG will be left slack so'rthat the weight of thedip- ,pcr no longer bears upon the fork member BEF, and the fork memberbeing only balanced as to theweight of its two arms extending on theother side of the pin FP, the operator may then easily withdraw the pinPA, and by means of handle ER inserted intothe openings RD, move thefork to a different operative position, whereby theend of the fork willbe lowered and it thus can be set asabove in the lowered position, andthe shovel moved under its own power or otherwise. The lowered forkprovides more clearance between the end of the boom and the otherpassages than would otherwise" be the case were the boom made longerand. extended higher to pro' vide for the necessary working elevations.

It has been found very expensive to have to dismantle mechanism of thiskind in order to provide for a been proposed and used but if they do notlack in strength, they "must be made much heavier andmorc alsofthat theother alternative, that of widening or otherwise enlarging the pasor,under-ground tunnels, is a very expensiveproposition also, and I findthat by means of my invention very much of the above expensecanbeeliminated. v

T am enabled alsoby the placing of the bail pin .BP at a pointrelatively near the dipper door DB rather than by placing this positionwhich I have indicated at Y, or relatively near thereto, to lift thebucket to a greaterelevation than would otherwise be possible, thisbeing accom lished by the placing of the sheaves BES independent, withan open space between them, and therefore enabling me by movingthetrolley TS forward of a posi tion indicated in the drawing, to shovethe dipper "or. bucket forward whereby when the chain HC is caused tolift the bucket to its upper limit, the bucket will be projectedsubstantially in the same horizontal sheave as BES. Thus in an extremecase, I may even elevate the bucket to a position where the teeth DTbeing upper-most, the point onthe bucket where the pin BP is located,may be elevatedsubstantially to a height equalto' the sheave BES.

Thus a further; improved result is secured by the arrangement of placedas herein 'illust-rated,and this result is'capable of attainment whetheror not the rocking elementsBEF' are fixed or rotatable upon theirsupporting pin; that is, the rock-' few feet of additional clearance;telescoping booms having expensively. It is obvious a pair of sheavesing elements made fixed to the boom instead of being movable relative tothe said boom.

I accomplish the reduction of the motion of the chain HG of the cranemechanism of my invention by making the hoist chain drums of a pluralityof parts, the hoist chain drums HOD being drums of relatively smalldiameter as compared with the intermediate drum ID, to which the powerof the hoisting motor is applied by means of a hoist cable CI-I whichpasses over the drum ID and a power-driven drum PD.

In this way I am enabled to reduce the motion of the hoist chain I-IC sothat for a given motion of the hoist cable CH, a considerable lessmovement of the hoist chain will ensue, this being essentially the sameresult as would be secured by means of the pad lock mechanism previouslymentioned, but without the consequent disadvantage attending the use ofthe pad lock consisting in the loss of lifting space, equivalent to thespace occupied by the pad lock mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, I am aware that numerous andextensive departures may be made from the specific embodiment herein setforth, but without departing from the spirit of my invention, also inclaiming the various elements of my improved mechanism, I desire also toclaim the recognized equivalents of such elements, as for instance,where the chain is claimed, this term is to be taken as covering also arope, a cable or the like.

I claim:

1. In a mobile crane mechanism, in combination with a boom, a hoistchain, a bucket member, said hoist chain being attached to the saidbucket member to lift the same, an extension member for said boom, apivot on the end of the said boom, said extension member being adaptedto rock on the said pivot, a sheave on the outer end of the extensionmember, the other inner end of the extension member being adapted to beadjustably secured to the said boom.

2. In a removable crane, the combination of a boom, a dipper, a hoistchain, a boom extension rotatably secured to and adjacent the outer endof said boom, said dipper being adapted to be lifted by'the said chain,a sheave carried by said extension, said chain passing over said sheave,and means for securing said rotatable extension in a plurality ofpositions relative to said boom, said sheave being maintained in a planeabove said boom when said extension is secured in one of its adjustedpositions.

' 3. In a mobile crane mechanism, in combination'with a boom, a hoistchain, a bucket member, said hoist chain being attached to the saidbucket member to lift the same, an extension member for said boom, apivot on the end of the said boom, said extension member being adaptedto rock on the said pivot, a sheave on the outer end of the extensionmember, a sector element along which the inner end of the extensionmember is adapted to be moved when the said member is rocked, and meansto secure the said inner end to the said sector at any desired one of aplurality'of points thereon.

' 4. In a removable crane, the combination with a boom, a bucket, a pairof hoist chains, each of said chains being secured to the said bucket oneach side thereof, and at a point relatively close to the door of thebucket, said bucket being adapted to be lifted up by the said chains, apair of sheaves carried by and mounted to rotate in a plurality ofpositions relative to said boom, said chains passing over the saidsheaves.

5. In a mobile crane, the combination with a boom, a bucket, a pair ofhoist chains, each of the said chains being secured to the said bucketon either side thereof, and at a point relatively close to the door ofthe bucket, said bucket being adapted to be lifted by the said chains, apair of extensions for the said fboom located on either side thereof,sheaves carried by the said extensions, there being a relatively openspace between the said extensions, said chains passing over the saidsheaves.

6. In a crane mechanism, in combination with a boom, a dipper, a boomextension, a sheave carried by said extension, at hoist chain extendingover said sheave and attached to said dipper, said dipper being.

adapted to be raised and lowered by said chain, and means for securingsaid boom extension to said boom in a plurality of positions in one ofwhich positions said sheave will extend in a plane above said boom.

7. In a crane mechanism, in combination with a boom, a dipper, a boomextension pivoted to and extending beyond the end of said boom, a sheavecarried by said boom extension substantially at the projecting endthereof, a hoist chain extending over said sheave and attached to saiddipper, said dip per being adapted to be raised and lowered by saidchain, and means for securing said boom extension. in a plurality ofpositions relative to said boom whereby said sheave can be positioned ina plurality of positions relative to and beyond the end of said boom.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 22 day of Sept,1920.

CHARLES A. WEBER.

